[Ed. – I believe this would be the first confirmed shootdown of a Russian aircraft by ISIS, per se. The Russian helicopters destroyed in November were attacked by separate Sunni rebels, not ISIS. They were also attacked while they were on the ground. An anti-air kill is an advance for ISIS. Note: it’s not impossible for Russians to be operating an Mi-25 in Syria, although Russia deployed the Mi-24 to Syria for the operations there. The Mi-25 is the export variant, which the Syrians have. They look the same from a distance. Russian media seem to have reported the loss as an Mi-25, and it may be that they are operating the Mi-25 there as well as the Mi-24. That said, the video posted to YouTube IDs the helo as an Mi-24.]

ISIS militants have reportedly shot down a Russian helicopter over Syria.

The helicopter was attacking the advancing terrorists near Palmyra when it was taken down – according to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Early reports suggest two pilots on board the Mi-25 helicopter were killed.

A statement from the Russian Defence Ministry said: “The crew received a request from the Syrian unit’s command to strike the advancing fighters. …

“When the helicopter’s ammunition was spent and it changed its course to the opposite direction, it was shot down by terrorists from the ground and crashed in an area controlled by the Syrian government army. …”

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